e you a week on it," he said, smiling grimly, and stood
up to look down the trail. Denver looked out after him and there,
puffing up the slope, came Professor Diffenderfer, the eminent buttinsky
and geologist.

CHAPTER VII

THE EMINENT BUTTINSKY

That there was no love lost between Bunker Hill and Professor
Diffenderfer was evident by their curt greetings, but as they began to
bandy words Denver became suddenly aware that he was the cause of their
feud. He and his eight hundred dollars, a sum so small that a shoestring
promoter would hardly notice it; and yet these two men with their
superfluity of claims were fighting for his favor like pawn-brokers.
Bunker Hill had seen him first and claimed him as his right; but
Professor Diffenderfer, ignoring the ethics of the game, was out to make
a sale anyway. He carried in one hand a large sack of specimens, and
under his arm were some weighty tomes which turned out to be Government
reports. He came up slowly, panting and sweating in the heat, and when
he stepped in Bunk was waiting for him.

"O-ho," he said, "here comes the Professor. The only German count that
ever gave up his title to become an American barber. Well, Professor,
you're just the man I'm looking for--I want to ask your professional
opinion. If two white-bellied mice ran down the same hole would the one
with the shortest tail get down first?"

The Professor staggered in and sat down heavily while he wiped the sweat
from his eyes.

"Mr. Russell," he began, ignoring the grinning Bunker, "I vant to
expound to you the cheology of dis country--I haf made it a lifelong
study."

"Yes, you want to get this," put in Bunker _sotto voce_, "he knows
every big word in them books."

"I claim," went on the Professor, slapping the books together
vehemently, "I claim dat in dis district we haf every indication of a
gigantic deposit of copper. The morphological conditions, such as we see
about us everywhere, are distinctly favorable to metalliferous
deposition; and the genetic influences which haf taken place later----"

"Well, he's off," sighed Bunker rising wearily up and ambling over
towards the door, "so long, Big Boy, I'll see you to-morrow. Never could
understand broken English."

"Dat's all righd!" spat back the Professor with spiteful emphasis, "I'm
addressing my remarks to dis _chentleman_!"

"Ah--so!" mimicked Bunker. "Vell, shoodt id indo him! And say, tell him
about that tunnel! Tell him how you